Hosiery package



Nov. 3, 1959 s. w. BURTON HOSIERY PACKAGE Filed Oct. 2. 195a INVENTO\STUAZT WEz/QTON BY zll leujim ATTORNEYS Ullitfi 2,911,093 HOSIERYPACKAGE Stuart W. Burton, Thomasville, N.C., as'signor to ThomtonKnitting Co., Inc., Denton, N. a corporation of North CarolinaApplication October 2, 1958,'Serial No. 764,862 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-4533)the article and this additional cost is not considered neg-v ligible inrelationship to the relatively low cost of the hose itself, it can befairly concluded that the type of package employed adds materially tothe salability and commercial appeal of the textile articles such ashosiery particularly where sales impetus is derived primarily from whatmay be termed impulse buying and the like.

A completely satisfactory package for hosiery, both mens and womenshose, has been difficult to attain without considerable expense due inpart to the relative flexible nature of the hose and the desire to keepthe packaging cost as low as possible. As is well known, it is highlydesirable that the hose be prominently displayed in a package to permitthe customers to satisfy their taste in design, color, texture, and thelike. To this end, various packaging arrangements have been employed inprior constructions to support these flexible hose so that theircharacteristics may be prominently displayed while simultaneouslyproviding a satisfactory package from the standpoint of sturdiness toprevent soiling, the accumulation of dirt, damage to the delicatetextile material and other injurious effects during handling by themanufacturer, the distributor, as well as the prospective purchaser. Forinstance, various devices have been employed for positioning andmaintaining the hose in the proper packaged position such as inserts,boxes with transparent windows, and the like all of which add to thepackaging cost while not necessarily providng the most advantageousdisplay of the goods to prospective purchasers.

In many cases, it is highly desirable from the profit standpoint to sellmore than one pair of hose to a single purchaser and as an addedinducement for increasing the quantity purchased by the purchaser, anassortment of hose of various designs, colors, materials, and the likemay be provided in a single package so that the assortment may bepurchased in a single transaction and possibly at a quantity discount.As in the case of the single pair of hose, it is still highly desirableto display prominently each pair of hose in a particular assortment soas to permit the prospective purchaser to make a selection of aparticular assortment. Furthermore, to additionally increase the easewith which the selection can be made, the package should be of a typeenabling it to be readily displayed in quantity and readily accessibleto the purchaser when the selection has been made.

Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide a new andnovel hosiery package for pairs of hose.

one or more States atent protects the hose from damage, soiling, and thelike while permitting a prominent display of the color, design andmaterial of the hose to a prospective purchaser.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and novel packagefor hose which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction,permits a prominent display of the packaged goods, and which permitsrapid packaging of hose in a rugged, protective enclosure.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a new and novelpackage for hose which permits the packaging of a plurality of pairs ofhose in a single package such as might be desirable where an assortmentis offered for sale so that each pair of hose in the package isprominently displayed for visual observation by a prospective purchaser.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a new and novelhosiery package which occupies a minimum of space and which permits thehose to be readily removed from the package without damage to the hose.

In general, the objects of the invention and other related objects areaccomplished by providing a hosiery package which comprises a supportingsheet on which one or more pairs of hose are positioned inoverlyingrelationship therewith. The pairs of hose are preferably foldedat the junction of their ankle portion and the foot portion and meansare provided for securing the upper end of the hose to the uppermarginal edge portion of the sheet. The lower portion of the sheet isprovided with a retaining flap which forms with the sheet a V-shapedtrough for accommodating the lower folded edge portion of the hose andretains the lower portion of the hose on the sheet. A portion of thehose on which the usual design or color appears is therefore prominentlydisplayed. Encasing means such as an envelope is preferably provided forthe packaged material which is formed at least in part of transparentmaterial. The envelope is positioned around the packaged material sothat the envelope does not obscure the visual display of the identifyinghose portion. In the preferred embodiment, this envelope cooperates withthe retaining flap so as to assist the flap in retaining the lowerportion of the hose on the supporting sheet.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an isometric view of ahosiery package constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 ofFigure 1 in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the package of Figure 1with the outer envelope removed and the underlying hose in a pair showndisplaced from its normal packaged position for clarity.

Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown an embodiment of a hosierypackage constructed in accordance with the novel arrangement of theinvention which has been designated broadly by the numeral 11. Thehosiery package 11 is arranged to contain one or more pairs of hosebroadly indicated by the numeral 12 and in the specific embodimentillustrated in Figure 1, three of such pairs 12 are shown. It should beunderstood, however, that the package 11 may be readily adapted topackage a single pair of hose or any other reasonable number of pairswithin the scope contemplated by the invention.

In the preferred arrangement, it is generally desirable commercially topackage a plurality of such pairs of hose materials, and the like, andtherefore increase the inducement to prospective purchasers to buy inquantity. The three pairs of hose 12 in the package of Figure 1 maytherefore be offered for sale at a slightly lower price, if desired.

In" order to support the pairs of hose 12 within the package '11 andgive the package sufiicient rigidity for handling, display, and thelike, supporting means 13,

such as a sheet of paperboard, cardboard, plastic, or the like has beenprovided which is preferably of rectangular shape and which is ofsuflicient rigidity to retain the shape in which the package 11 isformed as shown in Figure 1.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the packaged hosiery is thatcommonly referred as half-hose or socks suitable for mens or boys Wear.The hose in each pair, referred to hereinafter as the top hose 14 andthe bottom hose 16 is therefore arranged in a vertically aligned,stacked relationship with their ankle portions 17 and foot portions 18placed together. As shown best in Figure 1, each of the pairs of hose 12is then folded transversely, preferably at the junction of the ankleportions 17 and the foot portions 18, which fold line has beendesignated generally by the numeral 19. The pairs of hose 12 are thenpositioned in overlying relationship with the supporting sheet 13 sothat the foot portions 18 in each pair are sandwiched in the mannershown in Figure 1 between the ankle portions 17 and the supporting sheet13 to form a four ply assembly.

Each of the top and bottom hose 14, 16 is provided in the Well knownmanner with welts 21 having an upper edge 22 and the pairs of hose 12are positioned on the supporting sheet 13 so that welts 21 arepositioned adjacent the upper marginal edge portion of the sheet 13.Preferably, the upper edge 22 of the hose welt 21 is aligned with theupper edge 23 of the supporting sheet 13. As shown in Figure 1, each ofthe pairs of hose 12 is spaced laterally across the sheet 13 in a mannersuch that their side edge portions overlap to a limited extent withoutobscuring the pattern or design on the ankle portions 17. In thismanner, space is conserved and the package size may be reduced somewhatwhile the overlapping arrangement of the adjacent pairs of hose 12 aidsin retaining the hose against the sheet 13 in the package arrangement ofFigure 1.

Means are provided for securing the upper end portion of .each pair :ofhose to the upper marginal edge portion of the supporting sheet 13. Morespecifically, an elongated strip or rider ticket 24 of the well knowntype 'is provided which is composed of any suitable flexible materialsuch as paper-or the like. The underside of the ticket 24 is providedwith a suitable adhesive and the ticket 24 .is positioned, as shown bestin Figures 1', 3, over the upper edge 23 of the supporting sheet =13with one end 24a adhesively secured to the uppersurface of the welt 21on the top hose 14 in the well known manner.

The opposite end 24b of the rider ticket 24 is also adhesively securedto the rear surface of the supporting sheet 13 so that the top hose 14in each pair is supported or fhung on .thesupporting sheet in a mannersucht-hat the welt 21 :of :the bottom hose 16 together with the two footportions 18 of the pair of hose is sandwiched therebetween and looselyheld in the arrangement of Figure -1.

As shown in Figure 3, :the upper portion of the bottom hose 16 has beendisplaced .to show clearly that no permanent attachment is made .betweenthe bottom hose 16 .and the supporting sheet 13. It should be understoodthat the rider ticket portion 24a may be suitably inscribed with indiciain'the well known mannerto indicate such descriptive material as hosesize, manufacturers name, :type .of yarn and :the like.

Means .are provided for retaining the lower portion ofeach .of the pairsof hose 12 on the supporting sheet 13 so as to visually display thedesign, color, material, and the like of the hose including, inparticular, the ankle portions 17. Referring now specifically to Figures1, 2,

a retaining flap 23 is provided along the lower portion of ,with thesupporting sheet 13 a substantially V-shaped trough 29 for receiving thelower end of each folded pair of hose 12. Although the flap 28 may beformed separately and secured to the sheet 13 in any suitable manner, itis preferably formed as an integral part of the supporting sheet 13 byfolding the sheet along a fold line designated by the numeral 31).

The flap 28 therefore, extends laterally across the sheet 13 andterminates in an upper edge 31 which is suitably spaced from the riderticket portion 24a so as to define an open or unobscured space whichvisually displays the pairs of hose 12 positioned on the sheet 13. Thelower portion of each pair of hose 12 is received within the trough 29and held against the sheet 13 by the flap 28 so that the hose themselvesare readily visible to a prospective purchaser.

It should be understood that the outer surface 28a of the retaining flap28 is therefore arranged for the reception of intelligence or indicia inthe manner of the rider ticket end portion 24a. The flap 28 may be heldin the position of Figures 1 and 2 by any suitable means such as bypreforming the supporting sheet 13 together with the flap 28 ofrelatively rigid material, by the use of staples, tabs, or the like, andthe pairs of hose 12 merchandised in this form. However, in thepreferred embodiment illustrated, encasing means such as an envelope 32is employed which receives the parts to be packaged as shown inFigure 1. The envelope 32 is preferably suitably dimensioned so as toreceive the parts to be packaged insnug fitting relationship and as aresult of this snug fitting relationship between the envelope 32 and theflap 28, the tendency of the flap 28 to move pivotally downward andthereby release the lower portions of the hose is resisted by theforward wall 33 of the envelope. The flap 28 is therefore held in thehose retaining position in the manner shown in Figure 1.

The envelope 32 is preferably composed at least in part of transparentmaterial so as to permit the hose ankle portions 17 to be readilydisplayed therethrough and in the specific embodiment illustrated, theenvelope 32 is composed of a suitable transparent material such ascellophane, polyethylene, or the like. The envelope 32 is preferablyprovided with a suitable opening which maybe sealed by conventionalmeans such as heat sealing or the like to form a seam designated inFigure 1 by the numeral 34. As can be seen by reference to Figure 1,further benefit is derivedfrom the envelope 32 in that the snug fittingrelationship of the envelope and the packaged material restrains anylateral movement of the hose at each side of the supporting sheet 13andthe envelope resists any tendency of the end pairs of hose 12 toslide off the sheet.

,It can be seen that with the novel arrangement of the invention ahosiery package has been provided which is composed of a minimum numberof parts all of which are inexpensive and readily obtainable and whichdo not add materially to the cost of producing and merchandising thehosiery. The package components may very easily be assembled intopackage form and .at the same time provide an extremely rugged packagewhich maintains hosiery such as mens and boys half-hose and the like inamost attractive form whereby the color, design, texture, and otherphysical qualities of the hose are readily visibleto aprospectivepurchaser. With the transparent envelope employed in the novel packageillustrated, the packaged material is completely protected from dust,damage and the like while the contents .of the package including anyadvertising material and indicia which maybe printed on the rider ticketand the retaining flap is readily visible to a prospective purchaser.The ever increasing trend toward completely packaged merchandise whichisarranged to besupported in a very convenient mannerfor a prospectivepurchaser both from a standpoint of visibility as well as ready accessby a purchaser, is readily conformed to with the package of theinvention. For instance, the form of the invention lends itself readilyto the pegboard or rack type of display device whereas the package maybe hung from a peg in a supporting wall board or wire rack by means of agrommet or the like positioned in the transparent envelope 32 to permitready access and visual inspection by the purchaser and to promote whatis now generally referred to as impulse buying. Furthermore, the packageitself lends itself readily to the packaging of from one to anyreasonable number of pairs of hose.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention,-and although specific terms are employedthey are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaim.

I claim:

A hosiery package comprising, in combination, a support sheet formedfrom stiif material such as cardboard and terminating at one end in atransversely extending upper edge, a pair of hose each having a footportion and an ankle portion and being arranged in vertically alignedrelationship, said pair of hose being folded substantially along thejunction of their foot and ankle portion to provide a folded edgeportion, said hose being positioned in overlying relationship with saidsupport sheet, a rider ticket adhesively secured to said support sheetand extending over the upper edge of said sheet with its other endadhesively secured to the outwardly facing surface of said hose adjacentthe end opposite the folded edge portion of the hose, 'a retaining flaphingedly connected to the lower edge of said support sheet and extendingupwardly therefrom and defining a V-shaped trough between itself andsaid support sheet for accommodating the folded edge portion of saidhose, and a sealed bag formed from transparent material encasing thepair of hose and the support sheet, said sealed bag cooperativelymaintaining said retaining flap in an upwardly extending position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,718,919 Fitzgibhon June 25, 1929 1,940,078 Cooper Dec. 19, 19332,020,829 Gosch Nov. 12, 1935 2,518,711 Mulford Aug. 15, 1950 2,732,937Braun Jan. 31, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 766,417 France Apr. 16, 1934

